A roar and squeals went up as the men rush forward to congratulate and give me shit. I should be happy right now, but I can’t see past my anger. I’m married to a woman I want to strangle. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. If you’re not careful, history might repeat itself. The paranoid voice inside me rears its head again. “Brownie, get me a bottle of jack.”
The bartender scurries away to fulfill my request.
I meet Ruthie’s gaze, daring her to say shit.
She looks away and continues her conversation with the girls.
I get a sick sense of satisfaction out of it. I have to stay in control or we’ll both be lost.
Chapter Six
Ruthie
“I can’t believe after all this time, you didn’t tell me,” Blue whispers.
The hurt in her voice pains me. My shoulders slump as I peer up at her from beneath lowered lashes. “I thought about it.”
“And?” She crosses her arms beneath her chest.
“The time never seemed right. When we first met, I wasn’t telling a soul. Then when I found out who your family was, I got scared it would come in-between us. In the end, so much time passed it seemed irrelevant.”
“Until you started messing around with Skull. You had to know he’d unearth that.”
Her cheeks are flush, and I know she’s pissed not just for herself, but on Skull’s behalf. “I had no clue we’d end up here, Blue. Give me some credit.”
“No, you don’t get to be pissed at me for anything right now. You’re my best friend. We’re not supposed to keep the big stuff to ourselves,” she says.
“I’m sure you have plenty of things you can’t tell me.”
“That’s club related. I’m talking life stuff. Besides, now that doesn’t apply. I’m pissed we’re having this talk, instead of celebrating. I always thought of you as my sister. Now, it’s official.”
“I’m sorry B. If I could take it back, I would.”
“But you can’t.” She sighs. “How’s Skull taking it?”
“I’m not sure how to answer that question.”
Blue frowns. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“He’s a distant douche bag. I feel like he’s trying to punish me.”
“Punish? I don’t like the way this is sounding.”
“He’s not doing anything physical, just asserting his dominance, and throwing his weight around. He’s making me feel like being an Old Lady is like being a slave. I know that’s not the case.”
“Fucker is counting on the fact that you don’t know the ins and outs,” Blue mumbles.
“What do you mean?”
“Girl, you’re not a sweet butt. You get a say. He’s all up in his feelings and taking it out on you. I get that he’s upset, but we can’t have this. Not on my watch and not to my best friend.”
“Do I still have that title?”
“Forever. We’re bigger than this. Don’t put me in a place where I might have to choose between you or my club again.”
“I can agree to that,” I say relieved.
“I’m going to help you beat him at his own game. The way you start out in this life is the way you’ll continue. I’ve seen too many girls roll over for their men early on and get walked on until everything came to a head. That bun in the oven has your mouth running like a river. You could only go along with this for so long before you’d be slitting his throat in his sleep.”